Sprained ankle in stiff ski boot? WTF?

I lost a ski in some very soft bumps, my remaining (right) ski then plunged for the depths, sending me into a forward twisting digger. My right ski did not come off until its tip (or tail- not quite sure which) helicoptored back into the snow. When the ski hit the snow it felt like someone hit me in the ankle and shin with a shovel. No searing or knife like pain I've experienced with blown ACL or herniated disks. Just like someone bashed me with a heavy shovel.

After roughly 5 minutes most of the pain dissapated and the ankle felt more weakness than pain. I was able to ski down and iced the ankle for 1/2 hour. After 1/2 hour of ice I tried to ski but it was a no go. I had no confidence in the ankle as it felt very unstable and was fairly painful.

The ankle ended up swelling right on the outside ankle bone. Previous ankle sprains I experienced swelled below the ankle bone, more where the foot and ankle connect (traditional roll over sprains). The front 1/3 of the ankle bone is still pretty sore. It feels like there is a "band" (some soft tissue?) that runs up from the front of the outside ankle bone along the outside of the shin bone that has been strained. Anyways, I'm assuming its a just a PIA sprain. There is only minor discoloration and I can gimp around on the ankle. I would "assume" a break would hurt a lot more to walk on.

I am going to Utah in 3 weeks and need to get this ankle back in shape ASAP. Any tips? I iced for the first 48 hrs, and am now switching between ice and heat. Would the next step be the stationary bike? Any suggestions on getting the ankle back in action would be appreciated. I could go to the Ortho and get a script for PT, but the only thing I can think PT would do other than ice and heat would be ultrsound, and possibly electric stim. Should I go the MD/PT route or wait a few more days (it happened saturday, and feels about 20% better 4 days later)?


Also, How the hell did I sprain my ankle in the boot? I ski Nordica Beasts with a 110 flex. I would have thought my knee would blow before my ankle would suffer any sort of damage in a plastic boot. And yes, I'll take the ankle over a knee any day. I can only guess that the soft snow slowed the binding release of the helicptoring ski upon impact and my foot was torqued pretty welll before the binding released. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

:) Go to the doctor. Always better safe than sorry. If you have insurance and an ortho doc you trust...

I sprained an ankle in stiff ski boots also. Tecnica TNT explosion 8 has to have a flex of 110 or higher. This sprain occured in 2000 or 2001 ski season.
My sprain was nailing a rock at speed and forward flexing my ankle causing the sprain. I wore an air cast when I wasn't skiing and found a neoprene sleeve that I could wear inside the boot with little fit discomfort.
I went to a doc right away and started rehab shortly afterwards. (Bands)
I was not skiing 3 weeks post sprain. It took years for my ankle to properly heal so I could not wear a brace in my ski boot.

Three weeks I think is too soon IMHO

See a doc and start rehab pronto.

I took your advice and went to an Urgy center for an X Ray and PT script. Pretty much as I thought - Sprained ankle. I did get the PT script and will likely be able to start PT on Friday.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I knew I should get it checked out, but was using a real busy work week as an excuse for not getting to the Doc. I could not get into the Ortho until next week so I figured I'd take the shortest route to PT and hit the Doc in the Box. In and out with script in hand in less than 30 minutes - sheer efficiency

Prindle, That sounds like one hell of a sprain. I know years ago I was told a clean break is better than a bad sprain. Your ankle seems to prove that saying. I know 3 weeks is a bit on the short side for rehab, but I am gonna think postively and hope for the best. If it still bothers me I'll tape it every day and wear a brace if need be.

Thanks

foot stays put, lower leg rotates in the upper cuff = sprained ankle prolly luck it wan't your knee.

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Originally Posted by Vinman

foot stays put, lower leg rotates in the upper cuff = sprained ankle prolly luck it wan't your knee.

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I think I'm damned lucky it was not my knee.

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Originally Posted by BC13

Prindle, That sounds like one hell of a sprain. I know years ago I was told a clean break is better than a bad sprain. Your ankle seems to prove that saying. I know 3 weeks is a bit on the short side for rehab, but I am gonna think postively and hope for the best. If it still bothers me I'll tape it every day and wear a brace if need be.

Thanks

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fyi - i have a similar problem. chronic ankle sprain since last MARCH. (i biked all summer with a brace until it started really bothering me around sept/oct). an early season digger twisted my ankle like vinman described and re-sprained it. i took two days off then was back on skis. i was able to ski almost every day over the christmas break with no problem.

do your PT exercises but don't tape or wear a brace if you can help it. this will only prolong the sprain because the brace will keep your ankle weak. obviously, you dont need to tape or brace it in a ski boot but i'm talking about other activities. just take it easy on it, ice and ibuprofen as needed and you'll probably be fine.

good luck!

Dude, same problem for me. Last Saturday I dropped into a $$$$ looking pillow only to find out that there was a rock pile 6" underneath. Broke my ankle on both sides. I was skiing in Scarpa Tornado Pros on Supermojo 103s/916s. Didn't even fucking fall. Just broke my ankle and kept on skiing until I realized there was something seriously wrong.

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Originally Posted by Fritz

Dude, same problem for me. Last Saturday I dropped into a $$$$ looking pillow only to find out that there was a rock pile 6" underneath. Broke my ankle on both sides. I was skiing in Scarpa Tornado Pros on Supermojo 103s/916s. Didn't even fucking fall. Just broke my ankle and kept on skiing until I realized there was something seriously wrong.

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Fritz, that plain sucks. DId the Doc give you any explanation of "why or how" your ankle broke while in the boot without any torquing or twisting?

No, she had no clue how I did it. I'm thinking it was just a really quick and violoent flex.

I managed to sprain my ankle on Christmas (in FR120's) and it's still swollen right now just ahead of the ankle bone. It happened when my ski tip caught on some debris and got whipped back around me, so maybe something similar to what you're going through. Unfortunately I blew my knee on that one too, so I can't tell you if it's skiable or not.

Had some Speedmachine10s a few years ago...kinda thin liners, especially though the cuff area...cuff was huge for my lower shin/leg area...just allowed too much wedging between plastic->liner->shinbone when rolling the ankles and heavy forward pressure into the corners of the cuff. A little bowleggedness in addition didn't help any... Found boots with better fitting cuff area for me...it was a quick move. Best of luck in healin' up...

Try reading this article, it may help.

http://hometreatment.net/home-remedi...prained-ankle/

just tore ligaments in my ankle spinning off a jump...when i landed my tip dug in, ski didn't pop off and my body kept rotating...heard and felt a pop right away, and was pretty relieved it wasn't my knee... doctor said 4-6 weeks recovery, but that's just for regular walking and such... how long did it take you guys to get back on the hill?

I sprained my ankle in december doing a hurdle drill. If your agressive with the treatment ie : icing, resistance bands, maintaining flexibility, muscle stimulation you can get back in little more than 2 weeks. I was skiing after 2 and a half and was jogging alittle before then. The ankle will take a while to heal (mine is still weaker than its counterpart) but you can get back fairly quickly if you do it right.

BC13,
I know this is a dated thread but I must say my injury is a direct result of a pre release of my binders in soft bumps. happened exactly as you described yours! no not markers, dins on ten.
ya, pre release in transition and spinning parallel to surface with leg straight my left ski tip hit first, It was like I was in slow motion. I was thinking OK this is where I blow my knee, but no, ankle. I must say I was on fire that day. skiing as fast as possible in big fluffy bumps at the Wood. I felt invincible. Had the pod on and I was pointing It. Reflection on my ability is the only thing I have now that's keeping me sane.
This is Day 9 now, Getting a little better but any outward lateral forces on it and ochee mamma!
How long did you take to get better? was it inward or out ward forces that brought pain to you? I don't know how much longer I can keep my ski job on one ski, Bummed.

Similar story, I tore my achilles tendon while locked down in a ski boot... how the fuck I managed that I still don't know....

I broke my ankle twice in 130 flex boots with intuitions. Second time they said it was sprained after the xray and I skipped the reccomended mri. Turned out I walked around on a broken ankle for 6 months. It has never totally healed after doing thorough pt etc.

Wait..... 110 is stiff???!! Hell I'm thinking of going to a 110 and getting grief about going too soft.

up date: 2 weeks in I was able to put on a boot. 16 days was on hill not skiing but working, barely. 18 days boot on all day. I am amazed on my progress. what I thought was a serious injury seems to be on its way to a full recovery. Ice and e stim was key along with vitamin I. Spin bike and light stretching aided in my recovery. Peace

I loaded my beginner students on the magic carpet, then followed them. All of a sudden they started backsliding toward me (slippery conditions, bad carpet surface, steep carpet slope). To save myself from being crushed by 5-7 students, I made a giant lateral jump off the carpet surface. This must have caused the sprain. I did not notice because one of the students slid and fell sideways into me, and I had to catch her to keep from being bowled over. I was concerned about my back and knee, and did not even think about my ankle. I didn't know you can sprain your ankle that way. The ankle bothered me for 6 weeks before I went to the doctor. Now I made a Worker's comp claim, but don't know if they will accept it because of the timelag. It is very upsetting. Any advice?

To all those folks wondering how one can possibly get sprains and breaks inside a stiffly buckled ski boot, here's how:

Even though you are in a stiff ski boot, from a bio-mechanics standpoint, your foot/ankle can STILL receive some of the same shock-loading and shear stresses than if in a pair of shoes in certain falls. Your ski-boot does protect you from MANY outside acute stresses....however, many stresses are transferred through your skeletal system in such a manner that indeed there IS shock-loading at various points of the foot/ankle. You might not ever believe it, but you can have shear stresses inside the ski-boot...there can be just enough movement for that.

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Could be worse you could have done this:
Attachment 114849

This was my Dad 30 days(ish) ago, tib/fib inside the boot. He had just stopped and tightened his cuff at the top. When I first skied up I was sure it was a full orbital of his knee but after getting a look under the pants it was clear.

Not to highjack but any good bootfitter recs in MN would be great, he's going to have a plate that will come into play that will need some adjusting for.